


Short Ribs

by farfarawaygirl



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Dinner with friends, F/M, This emotion finally has a name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/farfarawaygirl/pseuds/farfarawaygirl
Summary: Just thinking that sends a tingle of warm, cold anxiety down her spine.She loves Matt.What a relief to think it. What a relief to have a name for it.What an inopportune moment to name it.It’s been there for months, this little awareness at the back of her mind that she harbours feeling for him. A small seed that has taken root, and bloomed into something so far beyond what she even imagined. Sylvie looks over at him, he’s the same he’s always been.
Relationships: Matthew Casey/Gabriela Dawson, Sylvie Brett/Antonio Dawson, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 9
Kudos: 137





	Short Ribs

**Author's Note:**

> I love putting Sylvie in awkward situations.

“I thought we could get Indian?” Stella is absently flipping through the mail that Casey just brought in, sorting it into three neat little piles. 

“I’m feeling more like some really good Cuban food.” 

Severide makes a face at Brett’s suggestion, promoting her to push his shoulder on the couch. 

“No one wants Korean BBQ?” Matt says, flopping into the arm chair, tossing his head back. 

“Ooh! I change my kind! I want Korean BBQ.”

Stella is still kind of frowning, but there is a glint in her eyes that makes Sylvie uneasy.

“I say we split up. Get dinner, then come back here for dessert.” She sounds so reasonable. It’s definitely a trick. 

“But I want Korean BBQ,” Sylvie points out. 

Stella gives her a look, “yeah, so we split up. Me and Kelly. You and Casey.”

And there’s the set up. 

Sylvie looks over at Matt, who’s slouched down even more, and is looking back at her with a grin. 

“What do you say, Brett?” 

Sylvie gives a long suffering sigh. 

“Fine, lets go.”

Matt’s slowly getting to his feet, so she reached out a hand and helps pulls him. He winces a little. Sylvie quirks a brow at him, his name building in her mouth, but he cuts her off. 

“I’m fine! I just overdid it at the gym.”

“You’re getting fucking old, man.” Severide offers helpfully from his spot on the couch. 

Casey whips a pillow at Severide who grabs it out of the air, sending it back. His aim is off, and it shots toward Brett. Matt lunges and pulls Sylvie from the pillow fire. It sails right past them, falling on the ground. 

“At least I’ve still got game.” Casey crows. 

Severide smirks, eyes flashing to Brett and back to Casey, “You sure about that?”

“Let’s go,”, Matt says, holding out Sylvie’s coat. She pulls on her boots, and reaches out for her purse, Matt’s waiting, eyes serious as he looks at her. He’s always serious. Sylvie fights the urge to press her thumb into the crease between his eyes, smooth it out with her finger. 

“I’m driving.” 

“Suits me.” Sylvie replies. “I Uber-ed over.”

It’s the misty twilight of late March when they leave, just after 6:30, but the sky is an inky purple, shafts of light filtering through buildings and bouncing off of glass. It’s still cold, but this weather makes Sylvie glad to live here, in this city. 

“What are you thinking about?”

Matt’s questions breaks the silence of the car ride. 

“Chicago.” Sylvie says simply. 

She waits a beat, then continues. 

“How I can’t believe I thought I could ever leave this city.”

Matt’s smiling, “so, you won’t be running back to Indiana?”

“Nope. I’d miss the noise too much.”

Casey told her they were going to his favourite Korean BBQ place, one she’s never been to. He’s hyping up the shrimp option when they walk it. It’s crowded, noisy and busy enough you know it will be good. 

Matt makes his way to the podium, holding up two fingers and giving his name. 

“Matt?” Someone says from behind them, and they both turn around. 

Sitting on the long bench for waiting customers is Gabby. 

“Sylvie?”

Scratch that, it’s Gabby and Antonio Dawson. 

Surprised, Sylvie takes a step back, heel of her boot landing firmly on Matt’s toe. He brings his hand to her back, right between her shoulder blades. It shouldn’t calm her down, but it does. 

“Gabby! Antonio?” The last name comes off Matt’s tongue as a question, Sylvie seems him sending her a look. She tries to telegraph her surprise, but only to him. Whatever she does with her face, makes Matt own face split into a grin, she knows he’s suppressing a laugh. 

That’s okay. She’d rather he be laugh at her, than be facing this alone. She kind of wants to laugh. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Sylvie finds Antonio’s question kind of silly. 

“Best BBQ in Chicago.” Matt and Gabby say at the same time. 

Oh, well that is a tiny splinter of pain in Sylvie’s chest. It’s their spot. 

“We used to come here all the time,” Matt says, “it was Andy’s favourite place.”

So, maybe not their spot. 

“Dawson!” The hostess calls their name, and Gabby and Antonio stand up, Antonio looks at the hostess, and Sylvie knows what he’s going to do a moment before he does it. 

“Is there room for two more?”

Please say no, please say no, please say no. 

“Sure.” The hostess shoots Matt and Sylvie a look, lips pursed. She’s annoyed. 

This time when Sylvie steps on Matt’s toes it is not accidental. He is practically vibrating from not laughing at her. 

“We don’t want to be a bother!” Sylvie’s cut off by the movement, both Dawson’s rolling their eyes, and Matt using both hands to push her after the hostess. When they arrive at their table, he pulls out a chair, raising his brows until she sits. 

In the moment of acknowledgement at the front, no one really said hello, so they kind of do that now. It’s a little awkward, once they are all seated, and facing each other. There’s a lot of history there. 

Gabby and Antonio are here for Cruz’s wedding and his son touring colleges, respectively. Antonio asks what they’re doing tonight, Sylvie feels like he’s rooting for more details, she lets Matt handle it. 

“No one feels like cooking the night before shift.” 

Sylvie covers her face with the menu. She completely misses it when the waitress asks for their drinks order. Matt elbows her.

“Sorry?”

“Drinks,”, he nods at the menu, “they have that Rosè you like.”

She orders from the waitress, placing the menu back down. Is it hot in here? She’s hot. 

Matt catching her eye, and that inappropriate urge to laugh is back. She knocks her ankle into his, accidentally making the table dance, the grill in the middle clanging a little. Blushing, she looks up, Gabby is holding her gaze. 

“I hear the shrimp is good.”

Matt has such a shit eating grin on his face. Honestly, she’s kick him again, but she knows she’d hit the table. They place their order, it’s more meat than Sylvie thinks they will be able to eat. It comes out right away, short ribs, shrimp, pork and beef. Little dishes of sauces, veggies and pickled things. 

Gabby makes fun of Matt eating with chopsticks. 

It feels like an other life. 

Like what might have happened in an alternate time line. The four of them sharing dinner. Except that the person Sylvie loves the most at the table is Matt. 

Just thinking that sends a tingle of warm, cold anxiety down her spine.

She loves Matt. 

What a relief to think it. What a relief to have a name for it. 

What an inopportune moment to name it. 

It’s been there for months, this little awareness at the back of her mind that she harbours feeling for him. A small seed that has taken root, and bloomed into something so far beyond what she even imagined. Sylvie looks over at him, he’s the same he’s always been. 

Older than when she first met him, but then she is too. 

He snags a bite of kimchi. 

Looks over and sees her staring at him. 

He blushes slightly. 

“Do I have something on my face?”

“Nope.” Now she’s blushing. “You’re good.”

It’s not a big deal. She just has a name for the feeling now. 

Unrequited love. 

She’s basically an Austen heroine. 

“Sylvie! Hey!” 

Is everyone she knows in Chicago here tonight? Sylvie looks up again, and smiles when she sees Olivia and a tall dark haired guy she recognizes from the gym by the table. 

“Olivia!”

Olivia’s eyes move to Casey. 

“Hey Matt.”

“Olivia.” He offers a hand, shanking the man’s as well, his name is Justin. Matt introduces Gabby and Antonio. 

“I see you finally took my advice.”

“No, not really.”

Olivia understands. Pulling a grimace. 

“Well, I’ll see you and Emily for class Wednesday Morning?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice to see you Sylvie. Matt.” Olivia has a silly little smile in place. 

“Bye!” Sylvie waves. 

“Olivia’s advice?” Matt asks.

Groaning, Sylvie sinks down into her chair. “Don’t ask.”

“She teaches spin?” Gabby reaches for a piece of cooked pork. 

“Owns a studio, Foster, my partner works their too.”

“She’s terrible at geography.” Matt adds. 

This elicits stares from both Gabby and Antonio. 

Sylvie smacks Matt on the arm, half heartedly, shaking her head. 

“What’s your favourite part about living in the Caribbean?” She asks, pointedly ignoring Matt. 

“Easy,” says Gabby. “Speaking Spanish.”

“The heat.” Says Antonio. “I wasn’t made for Chicago Winters.”

“I love Chicago winters!”

All three of them turns and give Sylvie a look. 

“Seriously,” she enthuses, “yes it’s cold but that more opportunities for tea, and hot chocolate. Books by the fireplace. Mittens.”

“You do love mittens.” Gabby agrees. 

“And that smell? That wintry Chicago smell? Like when it’s cold and the winds coming in off the lake?” Matt’s watching her talk, his face soft and fond. “I could bottle that smell.”

Matt’s nodding.

For the first time all night, there’s a moment of discord at the table. Yes, it’s been awkward, but this is a telling moment of where people are, and what they think. 

————

When the waitress brings the bills, she’s split it in two, placing them face down in front of the men. Gabby doesn’t bother, letting her brother door this one, but Sylvie tries to take the one in front of Matt. 

He lightly swats her hand away. 

“I owe you from that diner in Rockford.”

“Great, you got that one back last week. This one is on me.”

“Thanks.”

“The next time you and Foster do a smoothie run, I like the blackberry mint one.”

“You still go to that smoothie shop on Elm?” Gabby’s bright with remembering. 

“They closed last year,”, Sylvie explains, we found a new one on Travis Ave.”

She couldn’t say why, but she’s hesitant to leave the table. Afraid that once they stand the night will be over. Afraid of what will happen, who might happen, when they stand. 

Both Matt and Antonio put cash on the table, and they all stand to leave. If possible it’s busier than when they arrived. Sylvie gets separate from them by a group of sharp suit wearing business men. When she gets to the door, Gabby and Matt are standing close together, speaking. 

Antonio is waiting for her. 

“Hey.” He says it like they didn’t just share a meal together. “Why are you plans this week?”

Truthfully she is very busy. She’s got bridesmaids things, and bio mom things. She has work. She knows if she wanted to, she could see him. She just doesn’t want to. 

What they shared is done. Over with. She meant what she said to Foster and Kidd months ago, she doesn’t want to settle for anything less than something that ignites her heart. 

“I’m really busy.”

Antonio gives her a knowing look, turning back to stare at Gabby and Matt. It sends a sinking feeling down from her throat, through her chest and dropping unsettled into her stomach. 

“Does he know?” 

He’s stepped closer to her, so he can say it lower, right in her ear. Sylvie shakes her head, eyes turned down. 

“There’s nothing...” she stops, thinks of his hand on her back. Thinks of the way her body reacted. The way her heart soared. She blinks back the salt in her eyes. Closes her mouth. 

She just put a name to this. And now she wishes she hadn’t.

“Antonio?”

That’s Gabby’s voice. Antonio steps away, and the cool Chicago air fils his space, in his absence Matt is left staring at her. Matt has a surprised look on his face. 

“I’ll see you around Sylvie.” He reaches in one last time and hugs her. “It’ll be okay.” 

Sylvie nods into his neck, arms loose around him, head and heart elsewhere. 

Gabby crushes her in a hug next. Warm and familiar arms. Unfamiliar laundry detergent mixing with familiar perfume. 

“I’ll be by the house. And I’ll see you at the wedding.”

Sylvie has the unbidden thought that this is the last time she will get to hug Gabby before everything shifts. Maybe something will happen. Most likely not. But if Antonio guessed it, who knows who else might? 

She fiercely pulls Gabby in. Crushing her and swaying on the cement. 

“I have missed you.”

When Gabby pulls away her eyes are worried. Sylvie feels the prickle of tears come rushing back. How can she simultaneously be glad to see Gabby, and wish she was anywhere else? 

And then, they’re gone, Gabby following Antonio down the street, leaving Sylvie and Matt on the corner. She didn’t want to look at him. Doesn’t want to see his face. 

“Ready?” His voice is gentle, so gentle, and she wants to send him away. 

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

They get to his truck and he’s driving down the same familiar streets she runs on Ambo. Taking turns she has catalogued by incident. Man in distress. Suspected drug overdoses. Gun shot victim. Car accident. 

“Can you drop me off at home?”

Her voice sounds tiny in the cab of his truck. 

“What?”

“Home. Can you drop me home?”

Matt looks to her, then back to the road. 

“Sylvie, I bought the ice cream you like.”

“I like all ice cream.”

“I know!” He jokes. “It was easy.”

She looks out the front window, heart beating so loud she feels it steady thrum all the way to her toes. 

“Please.” Matt says. And like that, it’s easy. If it’s him asking, she’ll do it. 

“Fine. One slice of cake. That’s it.”

Sylvie wants to hold onto this as long as she can.

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t wait for next week!


End file.
